The Twins Who Lived
by AviaLee
Summary: Yes, I know there are a LOT of these. Yes, you should read it anyway. It's your classic: Harry has a twin. Twin is a girl. Dursleys are abusive. Mostly canon, apart from that.
1. Chapter 1: At The Dursleys'

Chapter 1: At the Dursleys'

"Harry, come _on_…."

Harry knew how his twin was standing. He knew that Isabel Lily Potter would be standing outside the door, the skin above her piercing green eyes wrinkled with irritation, tossing her long, tangled black hair. "I need to have a shower. And we have to be done by seven so Dudley can have _his_ shower. And it's like, ten to seven. Can't you hurry up, please?"

Harry sighed. "I'm coming!" He knew that he should hurry, (after all it wasn't him that would get in trouble for being in the shower when Dudley wanted it) but he just wanted to wash his hair.

#*~*#

He opened the door to Isabel's glare. "Finally!" she hissed. Then she shoved him into the hall and slipped into the bathroom.

Harry squinted at the clock near the stairs. Isabel had five minutes.

#*~*#

Seven minutes later, Harry glanced up from where he was cooking breakfast to hear Isabel slam the door in her haste to get out of the bathroom. His heart sunk.

Harry and Isabel did not live with their parents. Since they were young, they had lived with their Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and their cousin, Dudley. They had been told many, many times that this was not by Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley's choice. Their parents were killed in a car accident (the same accident that had given both Isabel and Harry strange lightning-shaped scars) and no one wanted to take the twins.

"And so," Aunt Petunia would snap, "you were _foisted_ upon us. Now, boy, I believe my front garden needs a good weeding. And girl, where is dinner?"

Off they would trot, missing their parents frantically.

But they didn't just get extra work for being an unwanted burden. They got punished for everything, every minor infraction. Including getting out of the shower late.

#*~*#

Isabel wiped away tears. Her Uncle Vernon had just finished a "lecture". In school, Isabel had learnt that normal lectures were to do with words. Not blows, or kicks, but words. She wondered if Uncle Vernon had ever learnt the meaning of lecture at school. Probably not. Probably, Isabel thought crossly, he hadn't ever been to school. Stupid man, with his stupid lectures and punishments and stupid rules.

"… help your Aunt Petunia wrap the last of the presents." Isabel had missed about half of what he said, but if she asked what it had been, the "lecture" would repeat. So she just hoped she hadn't missed anything vital and scuttled off to help Aunt Petunia.

#*~*#

When Dudley finally dragged his lazy ass out of bed at nine o'clock, Harry was fuming. Not only was it his fault his sister hadn't been out of the shower in time, it was for such an annoying reason. His sister had been beaten for getting out of the shower two minutes late because "Dudders will need it after seven". Two minutes late! And then the lazy git had got out of bed at nine o'clock! Two hours later! What was the point of such a stupid rule? And just like that, the second breakfast Harry was cooking (the first one had gone cold) disappeared. Harry blinked. Several times. He took off his glasses, tilted his head to one side, squinted, polished his glasses, put them back on. No bacon, no eggs, no toast or sausages or potatoes. Oh _no_. He yelled for Isabel-in his head.

#*~*#

Harry and Isabel could mindspeak before they could talk. They didn't hear every thought, they had to concentrate and send the thought to their twin. It was very convenient.

When they were five, and Isabel was sneaking food out of the bin at night (Dudley didn't like cold food, and instead of letting Isabel and Harry eat leftovers that had gone cold waiting for Dudley, Aunt Petunia would throw the perfectly edible food out), Harry had managed to warn Isabel when Aunt Petunia came downstairs.

When they were eight, they were determined to run away. Apparently, they hadn't been discreet enough. On the night they did it, Uncle Vernon hid in the shrubbery. He caught Harry when he went out to grab provisions for the journey, and gagged him so he couldn't yell for his twin not to come outside. Harry simply mindspoke to Isabel that Uncle Vernon was hiding in the garden, had caught him, and was waiting for her. She was to stay inside. Uncle Vernon and Harry spent two hours lying in the shrubbery, Vernon waiting for Isabel and Harry waiting for his uncle to get it through his thick head-she wasn't coming. At least only one of them had gotten beaten that time.

But a beating wasn't the only punishment available. They could be locked in their respective cupboards (Harry under the stairs, Isabel in a former linen closet) for days, let out only for bathroom breaks. Of course, they had fashioned a loop they could unlock the doors with, but that was for late at night. Or there was always the classic starvation technique. Harry was terrified at how little his twin ate-even less than him, and her appetite always took a nosedive after a few days of nothing but water.

They didn't wait for an emergency to mindspeak. They did it constantly. They did it to raise each other's spirits, to make each other laugh. Right now, however, it was an emergency.

#*~*#

Isabel came clattering down the stairs. **What is it, Harry?**

_(AN: sorry to put this in the middle of the story, but everything in __**bold**__=mindspeak)_

Harry gestured to the stove. **It just disappeared!**

Isabel gulped. Oh no. She knew the trouble they'd get in for any "funny business". The Dursleys hated anything out of ordinary, hated it with a passion. It was one of the reasons they disliked Isabel and Harry so much. Isabel grabbed some eggs out of the pantry. **Maybe, if we're quick enough…**Harry nodded enthusiastically.

Working together, by the time the family came downstairs, breakfast was nearly finished.

"Present time for Dudders" Aunt Petunia cooed. Isabel stared at the table incredulously. **Spoilt brat.**

**But just look at him trying to count!** Isabel grinned at Harry. He always made her laugh. She had to try not to laugh right now-she knew from experience that punishments were always twice as severe on Dudley's birthday.

#*~*#

Dudley finally managed to count his presents.

"Thirty-six" he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."

"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."

"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Isabel swooped in and grabbed the plate of bacon off the table to take back to the kitchen, sensing that a huge Dudley tantrum was coming on. Dudley always turned the table over while tantrum-ing and Isabel had no intentions of cooking the fourth breakfast that morning.

Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, pumpkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"

Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally, he said slowly, "So, I'll have thirty…thirty…"

"Thirty-nine, sweetums" said Aunt Petunia.

Isabel shook her head in amazement. Ten years of living with Dudley, and he still managed to astonish. **I hope his brains came from Uncle Vernon's side of the family.** Harry nodded fervently. **Brains, what brains?**

**Good point. Harry, stop nodding, if Uncle Vernon sees…**

The twins worked hard to keep their mindspeaking secret. It was another thing that made them not so ordinary.

#*~*#

The telephone rang and Isabel ran to get it.

"Hello, Dursley residence, who would you like to talk to?" Aunt Petunia trained them to answer phones.

"Hold for a minute please." Isabel approached Aunt Petunia. "It's Mrs Figg" she hissed, hand over the speaker. Aunt Petunia snatched the phone and waved Isabel away.

**Whadya reckon she wants? **Harry asked as he placed the sausages and bacon on the table.

**She sounded a little upset. **Isabel followed him with potatoes and eggs.

**Maybe she can't take us. I hate her house. It smells like cabbage and cats.**

**Well, who would take us?**

**Uncle Vernon's sister? You know? Dudley's Auntie Marge?**

**I doubt it. She hates us-especially you. No offence or anything…**

**It's because I'm the boy. Anyway no offence taken, it's practically a ****_good_**** thing for her to hate someone.**

**What about Aunt Petunia's friend?**

**Yvonne?**

**Yeah.**

**On holiday in Majorca. Thank goodness. She made me polish all her silver the last time Aunt Petunia visited her.**

**Maybe they'd leave us here.**

**I wish, Iz. More likely we'll be left in the car.**

**Maybe not. Uncle Vernon ****_loves_**** that car.**

Dudley began to cry in the dining room. Harry and Isabel rolled their eyes in unison. He wasn't _really_ crying. He just knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, Aunt Petunia would give him anything. They also knew that if he kept this up, there was no way their day would be any good.

The doorbell rang.

**Yours. I got the phone, you can get the door.**

Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss was at the door. He smirked at Harry and pushed him into the wall as he swept past into the dining room. Dudley stopped crying at once.

#*~*#

Half an hour later, Isabel was sitting on Harry's lap in the car. Harry didn't mind that-she was scary light-but he wished she had a seatbelt on. He said as much to Isabel, but he knew there was nothing for it. _One_ of them had to sit on the other's lap, and he was heavier than Isabel, although not by much.

They were going to the zoo and both twins were excited, having never been before. But they were also worried. Before they'd left Uncle Vernon had yanked them into the hall and threatened the worst punishments of their lives if anything funny happened.

Funny things happened around Harry and Isabel. There was that peculiar incident with Harry's hair growing back so fast, and that time where that odd thing with Sheryl's (the girl down the road's) brown and orange jersey, when it would not fit skinny Isabel, no matter how much Aunt Petunia tugged. One of the worst ever was the time when suddenly they were on the roof after being chased at school, they both had scars from the reaction to _that_.

**We just have to be careful.**

**And not do ****_anything_**** odd. **

While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, the twins, the council, the twins, the bank and the twins were just a few of his favourite subjects. It was a lovely sunny day, but that didn't stop Uncle Vernon.

#*~*#

The twins were enchanted by the zoo. They wandered around behind the Dursleys, close enough to be called but far enough to be out of the line of fire, admiring animals. They couldn't decide which animal everyone was. Piers: was an aardvark-he had exactly the same face. Dudley: was a pig-pink and fat with big ears. Aunt Petunia was a long necked turtle and Uncle Vernon a gorilla. Of course, they couldn't say any of this out loud.

**What about you and me, Harry?**

**Well, you're a bird…That one. **They were walking through the aviary. Harry pointed at a gold bird singing above them.

**Aww, thanks bro. You are a hmmm...I'll get back to you on that one.**

Harry grinned. ** Maybe we should walk by the tigers? The lions?**

**What about bats? You are half blind, after all. No? I'll work on it.**

#*~*#

Harry and Isabel were loving the zoo. They went to the zoo restaurant for lunch, and when Dudley threw a tantrum over the size of his Knickerbocker Glory, Uncle Vernon let them have the original and ordered another one.

After lunch, the twins were in high spirits. Isabel was humming under her breath, and Harry was grinning when they entered the reptile house. They were content to look at lizards and chameleons while Dudley and Piers tried to wake up the boa constrictor. But when the boys got bored and wandered on, Harry dragged Isabel over to take a look.

"Oh look, Harry, it was born in the zoo. Poor thing. Bet it hates being caged all the time."

Isabel didn't know why she was talking out loud, but she could have sworn she saw the snake move.

**Did you see that?**

**You saw it too?**

**Keep talking to it.**

"Hi-" she checked the sign "-Diego, I'm Isabel and the ugly one is Harry." The snake nodded.

**Iz, it nodded!**

**You try talking to it.**

**Okay. Oh, and the ugly one? Really, Iz?**

**I try.**

"Umm. Well, we're siblings. Twins actually." Diego seemed to smile. "Can you understand us?" Harry leant close to the glass.

"DUDLEY, LOOK AT THIS!" Piers Polkiss shoved Isabel out of his way as he rushed to the snake tank, Dudley just behind. Isabel and Harry both glared, and the boys kept running. Right into the snake tank. Diego tentatively butted his head forward, until he was past where the glass should be. Then he slid smoothly out of the tank and towards the exit.

Over the screams as people ran away, both twins could have sworn that they heard a hissing voice say something. "…Brassssil, here I come…thanksssss amigo, amigaaaa…"

Once all the screaming and running stopped, once the boys had scrambled out of the tank and the snake had gone, Isabel gulped. She had a feeling that she wouldn't see the sun for a long, long time.

_Please review, this is my first ever fanfiction. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. Thanks, AviaLee._


	2. Chapter 2: The Letter(s)

_AN: Oops! Forgot the disclaimer. I don't own anything. Nothing at all. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zero. Nil. Oh nah, wait a minute. I own: 1) Isabel 2) The mind reading thang. Can't think of anything else. The rest belongs to that lucky JKR._

_This chapter is for the amazing people that favourite-d or commented on my story. Thank you guys so much, I got really excited._

_Also, I'm sorry about my grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes. If you point them out, I will fix them._

_Last chapter:_

_Once all the screaming and running stopped, once the boys had scrambled out of the tank and the snake had gone, Isabel gulped. She had a feeling that she wouldn't see the sun for a long, long time._

Chapter 2: The Letter(s)

One thing Isabel knew. She was always, always right. That day at the zoo was no exception. She had a few new scars, but the bruises had faded. She had made lots of trips to the bin to retrieve leftovers. And she hadn't seen the sun for _ages_.

It had been a month since Dudley's birthday. And a month was a long time. Especially if it was hot, and you were stuck in a cupboard, only able escape to shower or go to the bathroom during the day. Of course, they snuck out at night, or they'd starve (Aunt Petunia had no idea about proper sizes and contents of meals) but it wasn't the same.

Now at last, Isabel was outside. She was gardening while Harry made breakfast, because it was so hot that Isabel couldn't possibly garden during the day, she had to do it early. She waved to the postman cheerfully as he dropped the post in the door.

**Iz!** Harry made her jump.

**Yes?**

**Come get breakfast, before Aunt Petunia gets downstairs and finds out that I've cooked some extra bacon for us.**

Isabel stood and ran inside.

#*~*#

When Aunt Petunia came downstairs, fanning herself and moaning about the heat, she found Harry and Isabel, sweet as you please, eating their porridge at the kitchen bench.

"Where is my breakfast? It should be on the table!" Uncle Vernon followed behind her.

Isabel jumped up, grabbed both breakfasts, and carried them into the dining room.

"And the post!" Uncle Vernon bellowed as she went back into the kitchen.

**I'll get it. I'm already standing up.**

**Thanks, Iz.**

Isabel picked up the post and sorted through it. A bill, the paper, a postcard and two letters, addresses written in green handwriting.

_Miss I L Potter_

_Linen-Closet_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

And

_Mr H J Potter_

_Cupboard-Under-The-Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

Isabel sucked in a breath.

**Harry! Harry, ****_someone's written to us_****! One letter each!**

**Really? Bring them in here-no wait, don't. Don't let Uncle Vernon see those letters.**

"Hurry up, girl!" Isabel heard Uncle Vernon and hastily turned. He was in front of her.

**Uh oh.**

**Sorry, I didn't see him, or I would have warned you.**

"Post." Uncle Vernon held out his hand. Isabel silently handed the post-all of it. He'd already seen the mysterious letters and would be sure to take them even if she didn't give them to him. This way, she might be able to sneak them back.

#*~*#

"Petunia!" Harry and Isabel whipped their heads around and watched Uncle Vernon. He was white faced and stuttering. "P-p-p-petunia!"

"What dear?" Aunt Petunia sipped her smoothie nervously. "Is it a bill for that new dress? I'm sorry, darling, but it looked amazing, and you like it, don't you? And you need me to be dressed nicely if you're going to go to the Gary family cocktail dinn…"

"Petunia. It's-it's from _them_."

He handed Aunt Petunia one of the letters.

**What cheek, to open it, when it has ****_our_**** names on it! **Isabel looked furious.

Harry nodded. He just wanted to read it, and it didn't look like that was going to happen.

"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the addresses-how could they possibly know where the children sleep? You don't think they're watching the house?"

"Watching-spying-might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.

"But what shall we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-"

Uncle Vernon shook his head wildly.

"No. No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer…yes, that's best…we won't do anything…"

"But-"

"I'm not having two of those in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear that when we took them in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"

Aunt Petunia was silent. Uncle Vernon kissed her on the cheek, then glanced into the kitchen. Harry grabbed Isabel and pulled her behind the bench just in time, so Uncle Vernon saw no-one in the kitchen.

**Thanks.**

**No problem. We would have been in huge trouble if he'd seen us.**

**Yeah. I want to read my letter.**

**So do I, but no chance of that.**

**Harry?**

**Yeah?**

**I'm sorry. I should have hid the letters. Or something.**

**Nah, it's not your fault. **

#*~*#

They did the dishes in silence, disappointed by the confiscation of their letters. Harry ached to know what they said. He was sure that they were important. Maybe they'd change things. Maybe he'd never have to see his sister with bruises adorning her arms ever again.

Harry wasn't a coward. But he had learnt over and over again that he was no match for Uncle Vernon. If he tried to protect his sister, Uncle Vernon would hit her harder. All he could do was try and be the one blamed for things, so he was the one getting hit.

#*~*#

That night, Uncle Vernon summoned them to the lounge. "We've decided that you two are grown-up enough to deserve your own room. You two can share Dudley's extra room" he told them, drinking his brandy.

Harry lifted an eyebrow.

**Because of the cupboard being on the address?**

**Yeah, and my closet.**

**Yesterday I would have given anything to have a proper room, today I want my letter.**

**Hey, if we don't get the letters, at least we get a room.**

**Even if we have to share.**

"Well, aren't you going to thank us?" Uncle Vernon was slowly putting down his drink.

"Thanks." Isabel smiled gratefully-at least, she hoped her smile looked grateful. Uncle Vernon looked at Harry. "Thanks" Harry mumbled.

#*~*#

It didn't take long for Isabel and Harry to move their stuff to their new room. The problem was fitting into it. Dudley used this room for all the stuff he broke. Dudley had a lot of stuff. He broke most of it in the first month he got it. Isabel had to move a bike, a television, various gaming consoles, an air rifle, and a glossy set of untouched books just to get to the bed.

**This has less space than my closet.**

**I'm almost missing my cupboard.**

**I wonder if we can throw this stuff out?**

**Dudley would never notice.**

**He only wants stuff he hasn't got.**

**Right. You take that end of the TV.**

Isabel held her breath as they walked past the living room, but Uncle Vernon didn't stop them. He looked at them briefly, then returned to the TV. Both twins exhaled slowly. They knew that they were taking a risk by throwing this stuff out without asking permission. They also knew that yesterday, they would never have gotten away with it. Perhaps the letters had changed things, simply by arriving.

#*~*#

The next day, Uncle Vernon got the post. "Petunia, darling!" he called shakily from the hall. "The people from that blasted, uh, you-know-what sent another four letters!"

"Four! Two each?" Aunt Petunia went into the hall.

Harry looked at Isabel.

**D'you think, somehow, they know we haven't got the letters?**

**Maybe. Why else would they send more?**

**Wait! Iz, if they sent more letters today, then they might send more tomorrow!**

**And if we could get them from the postman or something…**

**Without raising suspicion, of course.**

**Right. Tomorrow. Until then, we do not mention the letters. They don't know that we know yet. And if they knew that we knew, then they would know that since we knew, we might do something about it. They might try and stop us tomorrow.**

**Right…I have no idea what you mean.**

**Just don't let on that we know someone is sending us letters.**

**Got it.**

#*~*#

The next day, it was Isabel's turn working in the garden again. When she saw the postman approaching, she walked up to him and politely offered to take their post. He handed it to her and she grabbed two-one addressed to Harry, one to her-out of the twelve they had got between them and shoved them in her pockets. The rest she pushed through the slot.

**Got them.**

**Yes! One each?**

**Of course.**

**You're amazing.**

**Why, yes I am.**

#*~*#

After the breakfast dishes were done, Isabel and Harry snuck upstairs to their new room. They sat on their beds, and looked at each other. Then Isabel ripped her letter open and Harry followed suit.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, _

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr Potter_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely, _

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Harry gulped.

**Do you think that it's true?** Isabel's eyes were wide. Harry looked at her and grinned. Isabel had always been the trusting one-almost gullible in her faith in people. Once, Harry had told her that their parents were at the door. He had regretted it for years, as Isabel had cried with delight and ran to the door. Harry tended to be more cynical. But, for once, he was prepared to believe something before her.

**The breakfast on Dudley's birthday? The glass in the snake-tank? The time we ended up on the roof at school? And my hair? Iz, it would explain a lot of things if we, you know…**

**Were wizards! And the time that the jersey wouldn't fit over my head, and the cushion changing colour. **Isabel read her letter again.

**It says that a list of "all necessary books and equipment" is enclosed. Oh, here it is.**

Harry watched Isabel as she read. Her mouth opened.

**Harry-there's no way we can afford all this. We only have the five pounds we got from Mrs Figg that time we looked after her cats.**

Harry read the letter silently, eyebrows pulling together.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Uniform_

_First-year students will require:_

_1. Three sets of plain work robes (black, with embroidered logo)_

_2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_5. Two Hogwarts ties (in House Colours)_

_6. Three gray skirts/pairs of pants (girls/boys)_

_5. Five plain white shirts_

_Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags_

_Set Books_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_

_OTHER EQUIPMENT_

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

**Broomsticks? They actually fly on broomsticks?**

**It would be dangerous, wouldn't it? I mean, what if you fell off?**

**Iz, I was more thinking that it sounded fun.**

**Oh. **She rolled her eyes.

**But, anyway Iz, you're right.** Harry looked at her solemnly.** We can't afford this. And Uncle Vernon would never, ever even consider letting us…**

Isabel swallowed. Then she shot him a brave smile. We'll be alright, it said. Even though we can't go to Hogwarts, we'll be alright. Stonewall will be fun. Isabel could say a lot with her smiles.

#*~*#

The letters kept coming. The twins pretended to be oblivious to the whispering, the worrying, the boarded up door, and the blender getting broken when a piece of paper got jammed in it. Finally, Uncle Vernon broke. The first letter had come on Monday, and he lasted until Sunday, but when the letters came swooping out of the fireplace, knocking over Aunt Petunia's cup of "soothing jasmine tea" (with all the goodness of nature), he couldn't take any more.

"WE'RE LEAVING IN TEN MINUTES!" he roared. 'PACK ALL YOUR CLOTHES, WE MAYN'T COME BACK!"

**Mayn't isn't a word. **Isabel was acerbic as she scuttled up the stairs. Her uncle's mangling of language always annoyed her.

**No time for that, we've got to pack! **Harry threw everything he owned into a plastic bag he'd grabbed from the kitchen and Isabel copied him.

#*~*#

The twins were downstairs in four and a half minutes. They put their bags in Uncle Vernon's silver Vauxhall Vectra, and headed for the kitchen. They packed two lots of food-the "official" food, and the "need to hide this so we have some food later" food, then waited near the car. They chose their spot carefully-far enough to be out of reach when Dudley wasn't ready and their uncle's hand itched, close enough to be considered ready to go.

20 minutes later, when the twins had finally managed to lift Dudley's bag into the car by dint of discreetly unpacking his TV, they were ready to go. They pulled out of the garage and drove away from Number 4, Privet Drive.

_AN: Hey! Pleasepleaseplease review! And also I welcome opinions about the twin-ness. As I see it, I have three options._

_a) I can double everything eg. both twins get holly and phoenix wands_

_b) They can share things eg. this twin gets the cool wand that's linked to Voldemort's, this twin gets into the Quidditch team_

_c) I can create my own options eg. this twin gets the cool wand that's linked to Voldemort's, this twin gets a wand significant in another way._

_I want them to be kind of equally important. Opinions welcomed! Chose one of my options or come up with your own, whatever, from AviaLee_


	3. Chapter 3: Holidaying With Everyone's

_AN: Hey, sorry for the lateness, and for any grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes. (Please tell me about any you find.) I'm really tired. :(_

_So, yeah, enjoy this chapter, thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed (YAY!), please review this chapter, and I don't own much, as previously established, it all belongs to JKR. _

_Last chapter: 20 minutes later, when the twins had finally managed to lift Dudley's bag into the car by dint of discreetly unpacking his TV, everybody was ready to go. Uncle Vernon pulled out of the garage and drove away from Number 4, Privet Drive._

Chapter 3: Holidaying with Everyone's Favourite Family

After nine hours spent in a small space with the Dursleys, the twins _almost_ missed Privet Drive.

Dudley had been forbidden to play on his devices after the first five minutes, when the beeping of his Gameboy was the last straw for Uncle Vernon. He had reached back, grabbed the Gameboy out of Dudley's fat hands and thrown it out the window. With all other forms of suitable entertainment denied, Dudley had resorted to poking the twins.

Aunt Petunia, after casting nervous looks at Uncle Vernon, had called to cancel the cups of coffee, brunches, cocktail parties, and formal dinners that she was missing. Her shrill voice filled the car, like forks on china plates.

Uncle Vernon fell back into his favourite hobby. He complained. For nine hours straight. (They hadn't stopped for lunch, they had just got out the "official" food and the Dursleys had eaten that.)

Isabel and Harry only managed to keep a hold on their sanities because of their mindspeak conversations. They discussed a wide range of topics-Hogwarts, the Dursleys, magic, broomsticks, coursebooks, witches, wizards and pet owls. Okay, so they didn't discuss a wide range of topics.

**I wonder what the Dursleys know about Hogwarts?**

**They ****_must_**** know it's, well, ****_unusual_****. Otherwise they wouldn't be so afraid.**

#*~*#

But they did, after the aforementioned span of time, stop. They stopped in Stonehaven. Normally, the pamphlets at the inn explained, Stonehaven boasted wonderful sea views. Today, however, it would be impossible to tell where Stonehaven was and where the sea was, as everywhere was wet and grey and stormy. Actually, it might have been dryer in the sea.

#*~*#

When Uncle Vernon disappeared to the toilet, Dudley took his chance. He looked up from his second dinner, and asked "Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" The twins pricked up their ears.

"Ssshhhh! Not so loud!" Aunt Petunia glanced furtively at the other guests.

"Well? He has, hasn't he? He's gone bonkers!"

"It's just, darling, that some people are bothering him. That's all. He wants a holiday. Yes. A holiday away from the people bothering him."

"Who are the people bothering…?" Dudley started, and then saw his father coming back. He began shovelling more food into his mouth, as if the words he had said were still there and had to be smothered with food to disguise them.

#*~*#

The next morning, after cups of cold tea and tinned peaches on oats, Uncle Vernon disappeared. He pulled Aunt Petunia aside, and they held a whispered conversation. Then he left, taking the car.

Aunt Petunia came back and sat down. "Eat up, darling." She addressed this to Dudley, who certainly did not need any encouragement.

"Scuse me, but is there a Miss and Mr Potter here? Only, we got, like, _hundreds_ of these letters this morning." A girl, obviously an employee, waved two letters, addressed in green ink.

"I will take them." Aunt Petunia rose to her feet and looked at the girl haughtily.

"Mummy," Dudley tilted his head, "are these letters from the people making Daddy go mad?"

**Brilliant! Dudley, you chose exactly the right thing to be observant about! Harry, I've changed my mind. I like Dudley after all.**

Aunt Petunia looked at Dudley. "Yes-" she hesitated.

"Why are they making him go mad?" Dudley prompted, head still tilted. It was nearly resting on his shoulder.

The twins waited with bated breath. How much did the Dursleys know?

"Because they're…" Aunt Petunia stopped talking when the girl coughed.

"Uh, miss? The letters?"

"Of course. Finish your breakfast, Dudley." And with that, Aunt Petunia attempted to sweep out of the room.

#*~*#

Uncle Vernon came back later that morning with more food, and a mysterious package. It was long and thin. Isabel tried to put it in the car, so she could inspect it, but Uncle Vernon beat her to it.

"No, girl, you get your junk, we're leaving. You too, boy."

#*~*#

Their destination was apparently a beach-a rocky beach with rearing grey waves, whipped by an angry wind. There were no trees, or buildings, just brown-green flaxes. Uncle Vernon made everyone get out of the car, and follow him down the beach.

**Where are we staying, Iz?**

**In the smackbang middle of nowhere.**

**Yeah, but where are we going to stay?**

**Oh, I get it. Um, in the car?**

The car was a five seater. With little boot space.

**Oh please, no.**

**I wonder. **Isabel shaded her eyes and squinted.

**Can you see that?**

**What? Where?** Harry had terrible sight, and although he had glasses, they were of the cheap type bought at a chemist and were not much help. He needed a pair tailored to his sight needs. This was proven by the fact that he had no idea what Isabel was looking at.

**There's an island. Just out there. Well, it looks like more of a rock than an island, but it has a shed thing on it.**

**Really?**

**Maybe we're staying in it. I hope not though, it looks like it's missing half the roof. But how would we get out to it?**

**Oh, no.**

**What?**

**Boat.**

**Boat?**

**Boat.** Harry indicated a rowboat ahead that looked like it had been washed in by the last storm after spending several decades at the bottom of the sea. Uncle Vernon was standing next to it, rubbing his hands happily.

**Are you sure it's a boat?** Isabel frowned at it. **It might be the remains of a house caught in a hurricane.**

**In that case, we're going to sea in the remains of a house caught in a hurricane.**

Reluctantly, the twins followed the Dursleys into the boat.

#*~*#

**I don't like boats.**

**_I_**** don't like rain.**

**I don't like shacks, either. **Isabel finished, as they entered the shack.

It was not a very likeable shack. It was cold, and smelt mouldy and it only had two useable rooms because the roof had fallen in in the third room.

Harry put down his plastic bag next to Isabel's and followed her back out again, going to get the food and the Dursleys' stuff.

When they had finally staggered in with the last of it, they were dismayed to discover that they weren't getting beds. There was only a double in the smaller room that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia claimed, and a couch for Dudley. That left the floor for the twins.

**Right. It's official. I can't sleep on the floor. I want to go back to Privet Drive.**

For the first time ever, Isabel and Dudley were in agreement.

"We can't stay here! It's Monday! _Men_ _Shoot Aliens with Unrealistically Big Guns 5 _is on tonight! I want to go home!" he wailed.

"Shuddup, boy," Uncle Vernon growled.

"Sorry, Diddy-poo. We'll go home one day, darling."

Harry tried not to roll his eyes.

"What are you doing just standing there, girl? Food! Help her, boy!"

#*~*#

Late that night, Harry lay awake, listening to the shrieking wind and the boom of waves. Every now and then the shack groaned, and he would jump, convinced that the rest of the roof was going to fall in.

**Harry?**

**Yeah, Iz?**

**I've been calendar-ing. If today ****_is_**** Monday, then it's the 30****th****. And tomorrow, Tuesday, is the 31****st**** -and our birthday!**

**Really? Wow. Eleven.**

**I know, right?**

The twins waited for 12 o'clock on Dudley's digital watch.

11:58

11:59

**One more minute, and we'll be eleven.** Isabel was excited, practically bouncing up and down from where she was sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs.

THUD.

Isabel stopped bouncing.

**What was that?**

THUD.

The twins crept closer together.

The watch changed to 12:00 and the twins didn't even notice, they were staring at the door.

THUD.

Uncle Vernon stomped out of the second room holding a gun, eyes wild.

And the door opened.

"'Ello." The biggest man Harry had ever seen stood outside the door. Harry had to look up and down to see all of him.

"Name's Hagrid. Ah'm the groundskeeper at Hogwarts. Harry, Isabel, yeh there?"

Isabel waved.

"Good. Ah'm meant ter give yeh these." Hagrid had to walk sideways to get through the door, but he managed. He handed Isabel two more of the letters.

"Thank you, but we've read them."

"Do yeh not want ter go ter Hogwarts, then?" Hagrid stared.

At the same time, Uncle Dursley snarled. "You've _read_ them? Well, you can't go, anyway. I forbid it. As for you," he sneered at Hagrid, "get out of my shack!" He aimed his gun at Hagrid.

At the sound of his father's voice, Dudley woke up.

"Dad? Wha-who is…?" He whimpered when he realised how giant Hagrid was.

Hagrid ignored the Dursleys. "Do yeh not want ter go ter Hogwarts?" he asked again.

"Oh, we want to go."

"But we can't."

"They wouldn't let us."

"And we don't have any money, anyway."

"Woah, slow down." Hagrid looked at the twins kindly. "They can't stop yeh. And-"

"We are their legal guardians. They can't go if we say no." Aunt Petunia snapped.

"Why would yeh not want 'em ter go? Firs' rate eddication, they'll get, taught by the finest wizard the world has ever seen, Albus Dumbledore." Hagrid said the name reverently.

Uncle Vernon was livid. "I WILL NOT LET SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TEACH THEM M…M… TRICKS!"

"Never, ever insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me." Hagrid said softly, and he pointed the pink umbrella in his hand at Dudley.

Sparks flew, and Dudley grew a tail. Both Dudley and Aunt Petunia screamed and ran into the bedroom.

Hagrid advanced on Uncle Vernon, who was growing pale. The twins watched in fascination.

"Now, Dursley. If the chillen of Lily and James Potter want to go ter Hogwarts, they will go ter it will take more than a Muggle like yeh ter stop them!"

Uncle Vernon mumbled something like, "Mimblywimble," and dropped his gun to the floor.

"Right, thought yeh'd come around to my way of thinkin'." Hagrid said cheerfully, and Uncle Vernon followed his family into the bedroom with all due haste.

**Wow. I ****_like_**** this guy.**

**Did you see it? Did you see the tail?**

**Yes Iz, I saw it.**

**That means it's real, right?**

**Yes Iz.**

**Awesome.**

The twins stopped mindspeaking when Aunt Petunia walked out of the bedroom.

"Fix my son?" She tried for confidence and ended with pleading.

Hagrid shook his head. "Ah can't."

Aunt Petunia reached into her purse and pulled out a stack of notes.

"You're not understanding. Ah can't. Ah am unable ter."

Aunt Petunia replaced the notes, and turned on the twins.

"So, freaks after all!"

"So you did know." Isabel whispered.

"Knew!' shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. 'Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that – that school – and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was – a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!

She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed like she had been wanting to say all this for years.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as … as … abnormal … and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

"Blown up?"

"Blown up?" Both twins spoke at the same time.

"You told us they died in a car crash!"

"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Aunt Petunia scuttled back in the bedroom. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Their kids not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their names!"

"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.

The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

He threw a dirty look at the door.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh —Yeh parents were murdered."

"Who?"

"Why?"

"Well, no one knows much about it, see. But a very powerful Dark wizard-tha' means bad-" he added, seeing the confusion on their faces, "-'e killed 'em. An' then, so the story goes, 'e tried ter kill yeh. But 'e couldn't. Mos' powerful Dark wizard ever, couldn't kill two babies! Anyway, the spell 'e used rebounded, got 'im, an' 'e fled. Mos' of us think 'e's still out there, somewhere, bidin' 'is time."

Hagrid looked at Isabel's pale face, and saw how Harry had his face turned away so his grief couldn't be seen. He abruptly hugged them, and put them down again just as quickly.

"Anyway," he said gruffly, "do yeh want ter go ter Hogwarts?" The twins looked at each other.


	4. Chapter 4: In Which So Much Happens

_AN: _

_1)Me no own anything. JKR_

_2)#*~*# can mean changes of scene or changes of POV, you'll figure out which is meant. _

_3)Please review!_

_Last Chapter: Hagrid looked at Isabel's pale face, and saw how Harry had his face turned away so his grief couldn't be seen. He abruptly hugged them, and put them down again just as quickly._

_"Anyway," he said gruffly, "do yeh still want ter go ter Hogwarts?" The twins looked at each other._

Chapter 4: In Which So Much Happens The Author Can't Think Of An Appropriate Title That Doesn't Just Mention Only Part Of The Story

When Hagrid had told the twins the story of their parents, it had shaken their complete want to go to Hogwarts. But, _magic_. Isabel knew that she could never forgive herself for turning down an opportunity to learn magic.

So when Hagrid had asked if they still wanted to go, despite the danger that abounded in the wizarding world, Isabel had said yes. And Harry, ever protective of his sister, could not let her go alone.

So with Hagrid, they had "borrowed" the Dursleys' boat back to land.

Of course, this raised the obvious question of how Hagrid had got onto the rock.

"Flew." He had mumbled.

"Flew? On what?" He had pretended not to hear.

#*~*#

They reached the beach quickly; Hagrid could have been a professional rower. When they got there, Hagrid stumped over to the road and held out his umbrella.

**Why is he…?**

**Woah. Bus.**

**Where did…?**

The door of the violently purple bus opened and a skinny, pimply youth jumped out.

" 'Ello! I'm Stan Shunpike. Welcome to the Knight Bus."

"Seats fer one adult, two children, ter London."  
Hagrid handed Stan Shunpike a fistful of coins.

"Hagrid, the adult ticket is for normal sized people. I'll need five more Knuts."

Hagrid scowled and handed over five little bronze coins.

"Are those wizard coins?" Isabel asked as they hopped on the bus and followed Hagrid as he bypassed curtained alcoves and sat on an armchair down at the back of the bus.

"Yep. Here, look at these. Now see these silver ones, they're Sickles. 29 Knuts to a Sickle. And this big gold one, it's a Galleon. You get 17 Sickles to a Galleon, see. And, o'course, the little bronze ones are Knuts." Hagrid handed the coins to Harry.

**Oh, ****_no_****.**

**What?**

**We never talked about money, Iz. We don't have any. We can't afford to go to Hogwarts.**

**We have to tell Hagrid.**

"Hagrid?"

"Yeah, Isabel?"

Isabel swallowed and looked at Harry.

"We just remembered there's another reason we can't go to Hogwarts. It's that, well-" she paused, "we have no money."

"Sure yeh do." Hagrid said, and immersed himself in a newspaper. The twins noticed with fascination that the ads on the back of the paper appeared to be trying to shove each other out of the way.

"No, we don't." Harry said, a little irritated.

"Yeh parents left you some." Hagrid peered at them over the newspaper. "Yeh di'n't thin' they kep' all their money in their house di' yeh? Nah, our firs' stop is the wizarding bank, Gringotts."

"Oh. Okay." Isabel beamed.

**It's actually going to happen, Harry. We can really go to Hogwarts. We can learn ****_magic_****.**

#*~*#

The Knight Bus was fascinating. Because their armchairs were right at the back, the twins couldn't see out the front very clearly, but they looked backwards and watched the back of the bus squeeze out of impossibly small gaps between trucks. At one point, they went over a car, and the family inside appeared not even to see.

"Hagrid, why do all the people not see this bus?" Harry asked, pointing to the family.

"Spells. Anyway 'Arry, Muggles see what they wanna see."

"Muggles? You said that to Uncle Vernon. What are Muggles?"

"Non-magical people, 'Arry. An' those that come from non-magical families are Muggle-born. The purebloods got no Muggle in 'em. 'Alfbloods got a mix of wizard and Muggle in 'em. Some purebloods, they call Muggles Mud-People, and Muggle-borns Mudbloods. It's rude though. Don't either of yeh ever call anyone that."

"Aren't we Muggle-born, Hagrid?"

Hagrid sighed and put down his newspaper.

"No. Yeh Mum and Da' were witch and wizard, and your father was nearly pureblood, I think. Your Mum was Muggle-born. Yeh 'alfbloods."

"Does that mean purebloods are better at magic than us?"

"No! It doesn't matter what yeh are, 'alfblood, pureblood, Muggle-born. Some people are jus' better at magic than others. They got a gift, or a brillian' mind. Yeh wait. There'll be people from all types doin' well."

"How many students are there at Hogwarts?"

"Roughly two hunnert an' eighty. See, there's abou' for'y in a year, and seven years."

"Do we board at Hogwarts?"

"Yep, you sleep in yeh house dorm rooms. Mos' people go home for Christmas holidays, an' all students go home for summer holidays."

"Do you have to? Go home for summer holidays, I mean."

"Yep. Everyone does."

**Darn!**

"And the houses, what are the houses?"

"Oh, there are four. Gryffindor for the brave, Ravenclaw for the smart, Slytherin for the-well, they _say_ cunning, but it's for the bad- and Hufflepuff for those who are left, really. The Hufflepuffs are the kindest though. Gryffindor colours are red an' gold, an' their emblem is a lion. Everyone wants to be in Gryffindor. Ravenclaw is bronze and blue, an' a eagle. Hufflepuff: badger, yellow, black. Slytherin: snake, green, silver."

**I want to be in Gryffindor.**

**I dunno, Ravenclaw might be alright.**

**Not Slytherin.**

**No, not Slytherin.**

"Now, Ah want ter read my newspaper-Fudge is being useless."

"Who's Fudge?"

Hagrid pointedly looked at his newspaper.

"Hagrid, please?"

Hagrid sighed gustily. "Cornelius Fudge, Minister o' Magic. He's head o' the wizarding Ministry-that's the wizarding government-" he added, anticipating the question, "-but he's not very good, so he stuffs up a lot, an' is always pestering Dumbledore for advice. Dumbledore coulda bin Minister o' Magic, but he stuck ter being Headmaster."

"Why?"

"Ah dunno! Yeh a terrible question-asker, Isabel. An' Ah…hmmmm….Why don't you two go up ter Stan an' give him these-" he handed them some coins, "-and ask him for two beds? Yeh prob'ly need more sleep." He added in an undertone "And Ah need some peace."

#*~*#

The twins slept until eight o'clock. Normally, they were early risers, but they were exhausted. When they woke up, they sat with Hagrid, who was now onto reading Witch Weekly, until they arrived in London at about half past eight in the morning. Harry couldn't fathom why, because he was sure the journey from Stonehaven to London was meant to be about nine and a half hours, and they had left Stonehaven about half past one, and they had detoured to Inverness and Oban, so about twelve hours... But he was distracted by the sight of Isabel being sick all over her jeans and armchair.

Stan Shunpike walked over. "Scourgify," he muttered, and pointed a wand (Harry assumed it was a wand, it could be just a stick, but that didn't seem likely) at the mess. And then the mess wasn't there anymore. Harry looked hard at Isabel, who was thanking Stan Shunpike and accepting pills for motion sickness. Her jeans were as clean as ever.

**Are you alright now?**

**It's just this bus, I think.**

As she mindspoke, the bus tilted sideways, and passengers and luggage went flying past.

Isabel moaned.

"It's alright, Isabel. We're getting' off this accursed bus righ' here." Hagrid stood, and staggered to the front of the bus. The twins followed more cautiously.

#*~*#

"This is the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." Hagrid stood, arms outstretched, in front of a dingy little pub. It didn't look like a famous place ought to look like. The people-the Muggles, Isabel corrected herself- walking past appeared not to see it, their eyes slid from the clothing shop on one side to the florist on the other. She wondered if it was a spell, or just a refusal to see this building that so contrasted with its surroundings.

Walking into the Leaky Cauldron, Isabel was hit by a cloud of beer and smoke. She started coughing violently. For a famous place, it was very cloudy. And dark. And it was even shabbier on the inside. It was also deserted, although that might have been at least partly due to the time-quarter to nine.

"Hagrid!" A barman popped out from behind the bar. "Bit early, isna it?"

"Oh no, no Firewhiskey for me, I'm on official Hogwarts business," Hagrid boasted, indicating Harry and Isabel.

"Bless my soul." the barman whispered. "It's nivver, but I can see the girl's scar, it must be. Harry and Isabel Potter? The Twins Who Lived, in the Leaky Cauldron. Bless my soul, but I never thought I would see them in my pub. Would they like a drink? Would you like a drink, boy? Girl? On the house, no charge for you."

By now he was out from behind the bar and was close enough that Isabel could see tears in his eyes. She smiled shyly at him.

"I'm Tom. I've always wanted to meet you both. It's a great honour. Bless my soul." He did a funny half bow, and shook the twins' hands.

The door opened and a man in a turban walked in. "Professor Quirrell!" Hagrid waved the twins over. "These are two of your new students. This is Isabel Potter, and this is Harry Potter."

"D-d-d-dear m-me. The P-p-pott-tters? C-can't tell you how p-p-pleased I am to mmm-meet you both. I'll be your Defence Ag-gainst the D-dark Arts teacher." He looked terrified. "N-n-n-not that you two n-need it, eh? Eh?" Professor Quirrell laughed nervously.

"Well, Tom, got to get goin', lots to do." Hagrid put a hand on each twins' right shoulder. They both buckled at the knees and he hastily removed his hands. Tom bowed the twins out the door, which led to a small, walled courtyard, with a few weeds and a dustbin.

Hagrid grinned. "Told ya you were famous. Di'n't I tell yeh you were famous?"

"But, will everyone do the bowing and the stammering like that?" Harry asked, looking alarmed.

**Because, it scares me.**

**Yes! What did we do? I mean, we were-**

**Babies! I know!**

**We don't deserve it!**

**And it's scary! Not that I'm afraid.**

"Ah, they'll get used ter ya. Professor Quirrell, though, he's never talked the same since his trip to Albania. An' Isabel?"

"Yes?"

"Can I call yeh Bel? Isabel is a mouthful."

"Sure, Hagrid."

"Thanks. Isabel has too many sylla-sylli-siba- it's too long. Now, three up, two across," Hagrid was counting bricks. Isabel tilted her head. Hagrid tapped a brick with his pink umbrella and it quivered. Then, with a barely audible _pop_, it disappeared. The bricks next to it did the same to a chorus of little _pops_, until, eventually, there was a Hagrid sized archway in the wall.

"Welcome," Hagrid said, "to Diagon Alley."

Diagon Alley was a bustling cobbled street, and as they stepped on to it, Isabel hastily pulled a lock of hair over her forehead. Harry's wild hair hid his scar, but she would need to cut a fringe to avoid notice. There were lots of wizards and witches to notice her. They strode the street in their robes and pointed hats, and ducked into shops. They talked loudly about potions-Isabel thrilled to the word-and something called Quidditch.

A cluster of boys were standing outside a shop window. Isabel heard one say, "Wow! A Nimbus 2000." Another: "It's the fastest broom ever!" She pricked up her ears at the mention of broomsticks and glanced over. The boys were admiring a shiny wooden broom that looked nothing like the one she swept Aunt Petunia's kitchen with.

**Harry, look!**

**Wow. A broomstick. I want one, Iz.**

**I want ****_that_**** one. The boys were saying it's the fastest ever.**

**Next year.**

**If we can afford it.**

On the other side of the street, a plump witch was complaining to her young daughter. "Seventeen sickles an ounce for dragon's liver! They must be mad. We'll see if we can find some at home, Morag."

A tall wizard passing by was talking to his companion earnestly and softly. "I'm telling you, there's a lot of money in this deal, mate. Just avoid the Aurors, eh?"

There were shops selling robes, and shops selling telescopes and strange silver and gold instruments, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles and tinkling phials, globes of the moon, windows covered with brightly coloured posters that kept flashing different messages…

_The Weird Sisters Use Madam Trangle's Instant Tease for all their Hairy Needs._

_Amazing Deal-Buy One Pewter Cauldron From Potage's, Get Another Half Price!_

_Are You Sick Of Garden Gnomes? Try The New Gnomes-B-Gone!_

_New From Nepal-Melodramatic Tree-Guaranteed To Grow Or Die Trying! _

And then they were at the end of the street, and walking towards Gringotts. It was a big white marble building. And standing up the top of the stairs, was a-

"Yeah, that's a goblin." Hagrid said softly out of the corner of his mouth. The goblin was about a head shorter than the twins. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard, and, Isabel noticed, very long fingers and feet.

Isabel was glad to walk past him, and into the bank. Now they faced a second set of doors, silver, with words engraved upon them.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits those who sin for greed_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay-most dearly-in their turn_

_So if you seek 'neath our floors,_

_A treasure that was never yours_

_Thief, you have been warned, 'ware!_

_Of finding more than treasure here_

_Next Chapter up in a week! Will be called Mall Crawling, Wizard Style. Pretty Please review?_


	5. Chapter 5: Mall-Crawling, Wizard Style

_Sorry about lateness._

_1) __I don't own_

_2) __Please point out mistakes, I lack a beta to better_

_3) __Reviews welcome! Please…._

_4) __ Enjoy!_

Chapter 5: Mall Crawling, Wizard Style.

_Last Chapter: Thief, you have been warned, 'ware!_

_ Of finding more than treasure here_

"Yeh'd be mad to try and rob it." Hagrid shook his head. "See, there's meant to be a dragon. And goblins are tricketty. Scrupulously honest-they never lie-yet tricketty. They don't have wands, but they do crafty little spells."

They went through the silver doors, into a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid made for the counter, and the twins followed in his wake. Although the hall was crowded, people were too busy to do more than glance at the twins, and so no one realized who they were.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta the Potter safe."

"You have the key, sir?"

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.

Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.

The goblin looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"

Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he, Isabel and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

**Impressive place, huh?**

**The goblins are ****_scary_****.**

**It's alright,Iz.**

**I ****_know_****. They just look, so..**

**Short?**

**Wily.**

What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thir teen?" Harry asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Griphook held the door open for them. Isabel, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply down ward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off.

At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. The twins tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.

#*~*#

Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late — they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

**Stalagmites are on the ground, stalactites are on the ceiling. There's all sorts of little memory tricks to remember that. For instance-**

**Iz. Thank you.**

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."

He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.

Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.

Harry gulped. His Uncle Vernon was a reasonably wealthy man, for all his complaining about the twins' living expenses. He could buy all Dudley's birthday presents without making a significant dent in the Dursley accounts. But Harry knew that in front of him was more money than Uncle Vernon had ever had, more money than he ever would. Even split in half-he peeked at Isabel and found her staring at the fortune, eyes wide-it was more money than Harry had ever dreamed of having.

"Conversion rates are about one Knut to the pound." Hagrid offered, beaming at the twins.

Harry started doing maths.

**My goodness, Iz! We're rich!**

**Oh my. **It seemed to Isabel's only thought. She was still staring at the money.

Hagrid cleared his throat and offered each twin a bag. Harry took it, his brain already wondering whether he could buy a broomstick, pretend he was a second year…

Isabel was not moving. She seemed to be in a daze.

**Iz? Iz, snap out of it!**

**Right, sorry. It's simply so ****_much_****.**

Hagrid helped the twins fill a bag each.

"Yeh can order stuff from school, so we'll buy everythin' on your list today, bu' we'll make sure there's money left over fer school." Hagrid turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?" "One speed only," said Griphook.

They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Isabel sighed and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his

coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.

#*~*#

One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Isabel didn't know what to do first now that she had a bag full of money. She knew that even this little bag, a tiny fraction of her half of the fortune, held more money than Dudley had ever had. "Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, Bel, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the

Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so the twins entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.

Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. "Hogwarts, dears?" She didn't wait for an answer. Come right through, we'll have to get you fitted. Now, dearie, you come through to the Witches' Fitting Room, and you can go into the Wizards'. I have another young man in there now."

#*~*#

Harry followed where she was pointing. The boy standing on the footstool in the Fitting Room looked about his age. He had a pale, pointed face, and was scolding the witch who was pinning up his long black robes. Madam Malkin followed Harry through.

"Now, dear, stand on this, and keep still." Harry stood on a second stool and Madam Malkin slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.

"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at cauldrons," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.

"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.

"No," said Harry.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.

"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"Um," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Harry wondered if the boy had heard the same description of the house qualities that Harry had heard.

"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking this boy less and less every second, and he was thinking that perhaps Slytherin _was_ the correct house for him.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.

"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.

"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families."

Harry wondered if this boy was a pureblood. He certainly acted like one.

"What's your surname, anyway?"

But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.

Harry went back into the shop, and Madam Malkin loaded him up with clothes.

"Now, dear, when you are Sorted, the tie and the vest will assume your House colours. And the robes will have your House shield on the pocket." She turned to Isabel, who had also finished being fitted. "And these are for you, my dear. Don't forget you can order more through the year if you grow out of them."

Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts) outside the shop.

"What's up?" said Hagrid.

"Nothing," Harry answered. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Don't make me feel _worse_," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.

"-the other students won't all be so arrogant, will they?"

"O' course not. Look, 'Arry, you probably met abou' the worst kid there just then. I know plenty o' nice kids tha' go ter Hogwarts. Yeh'll be fine. Now that yeh have finished yore ice-creams, how about we buy yeh some trunks? Tha' way yeh won't have ter carry all yore stuff. Yeh can put it in the trunk, see?"

So they went shopping. At Wiseacres Wizarding Warehouse, they bought trunks, scales, two sets of glass phials, and a telescope. Next was a shop called Flourish & Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. They bought the curriculum books, then Harry sloped off to the practical joke section. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from _Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More_) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

"I was trying to find a spell for Dudley."

"I'm not saying that's a bad idea, but you're not allowed ter use magic outside o' school. Now, where's that sister of yours?"

**Iz?**

**I'm reading.**

**Where?**

**History.**

"I think she was going to go look at books on history."

Isabel was sitting in the middle of an aisle, heavy tomes stacked around her, deeply engrossed in a book.

**Iz?**

**I'm ****_reading_****.**

**Put the book down, Iz, there's a good girl. That's it. Good Iz.**

**Harry…**

Hagrid grinned fondly at Isabel. "A bookworm, huh? Jus' like your mother. But there's a library at Hogwarts, Bel. Read books from it."

They managed to drag Isabel out of the shop with a minimal amount of protest.

Next stop, cauldrons. The sign said that Potage's Cauldron Shop sold "Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring – Collapsible". Harry grew excited at the sight of a gold one. Isabel put her hand on his arm.

**Harry, the list says ****_pewter_****.**

"No, 'Arry. It says pewter on the list."

**Hagrid agrees with me. Come on, Harry.**

_No real reason why I decided to stop here. I promise the next chapter will be up in less than a week, and you will see Isabel's wand. J Be excited! From AviaLee._

_P.S. AxelCat, I posted. Follow my stellar example and _soon_._

_P.P.S. Popcorn, Astrielle_.


	6. Chapter 6:Wands

_Hey, I'm sacrificing quantity and frequency for quality, so chapters won't be as often or long but hopefully will be better._

_Would LOVE reviews..._

_Last Chapter: Harry, the list says pewter._

_"No, 'Arry. It says pewter on the list."_

**_Hagrid agrees with me. Come on, Harry._**

Chapter 6: Wands

After dragging Harry away from the gold cauldron, they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for the twins, Harry examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop). Isabel inspected a package deal that included newt eyes, frog toes, wool of bat, and dog tongues.

Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list.

"Righ'. I think tha's eveythin'. Jus' wands, now. We got to go to Ollivanders for tha'. They make the bes' wands and you'll wan' the bes'."

**This is the thing I was most looking forward to.**

**Same**.

As they entered Ollivanders, Makers of Fine Wands Since 382. BC, there was a crash, and gold sparks flew everywhere. Isabel jumped.

"Hagrid, what was that?" Hagrid was looking around, puzzled.

"Dunno…"

Most of the floor space of Ollivanders was taken up by shelves, high rickety things that looked like they were about to fall over. Out of the shelves suddenly zoomed a small box. It stopped in front of Isabel, and hovered in front of her. She backed away slowly.

"The wand inside the box has chosen you." A pale old man appeared from behind another shelf. "It must be a cherry wand, they habitually do peculiar things. I have heard of them reacting to their future partner as soon as that partner enters close proximity, but I've never seen it happen before. Well? Open it."

Isabel opened the box and drew out a light-coloured wand. It felt pleasantly silkily smooth. The old man gasped. "Ah..._That _wand. Nine and a half inches, cherry, dragon heartstring, swishy. There is a prophecy about that wand, Miss Potter. The prophecy states that the one who bears it will help bring down the Darkest of all wizards…..cherry… particularly rare, and cherry wands with dragon heartstrings…. almost unheard of…" The old man mumbled on, softly enough that Isabel could not hear him.

"I'm sorry?" she said.

**He's rather…eccentric, isn't he?**

**It's like he forgets people are with him.**

**And starts talking to himself.**

"Oh! Sorry. I was thinking that your wand is interesting. Cherry is peculiar, subtle and powerful. It also cannot be used for Dark Arts. Ever. The wand will not allow it. Dragon heartstring is powerful and temperamental. The two together are a famous combination-doubly powerful. But, of course, only able to be used for good. The length is just long enough that your character is not lacking, and indicates, in word, _elegant_ spells. And the swishiness, well, that says wonderful things about you. This is a good wand, Miss Potter. And, of course, you are foretold to destroy a horrific wizard with it."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Isabel was bewildered.

"The wand chooses the wizard, Miss Potter. Or witch, of course. But it matches itself to its partner-to you. This wand knew you were right for it. Now, here's a pamphlet on wand care, and this is cleaning oil. Please take good care of your wand. Seven Galleons." A little surprised at the sudden change of topic, Isabel dug out seven galleons.

#*~*#

"Now, a chair for you." The man went back into the shelves and returned with a chair for Isabel, who, Harry noticed, seemed to be in a slight daze. "Did I introduce myself? I'm Ollivander. Ah, you. Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy. I didn't notice you there. How…nice….to see you again. Hagrid, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

Isabel was delighted.** Did he just know Hagrid's wand type, but not his name?**

**Looks like it. **Harry grinned at her.

"Good wand, yours. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.

**Expelled? Huh.**

"Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.

"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.

"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.

"Good, good. Well, that's fine and dandy." said Mr. Ollivander, smiling. "Well, now — Mr. Potter. Let me see. We'll find _your _wand the traditional way." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.

"Miss Potter? Would you give me a hand? Please measure your brother's arm while I look for wands. Hmm…"

Isabel got up and crossed to Harry. She seemed reluctant to let go of her wand.

**Hold out your arm. That's it**. She measured Harry from shoulder to finger and called the measurement to Ollivander.

"Very good! Now, Miss Potter, wrist to elbow."

On Ollivander's instructions, Isabel measured shoulder to floor, knee to longest toe, width of fingers and round Harry's head.

**Iz, you alright?**

**Yeah. It's just…as soon as I touched my wand, it was like it was part of me, or something. It didn't feel right to leave it. **

Ollivander returned with an armful of boxes. He nodded at Isabel. "Thank you, dear."

"Now, Mr. Potter." He puffed up his thin chest, and recited with an air of boredom, like he was explaining to a two-month old how to spell their name (an ultimately useless and time-wasting endeavor), "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. But it's not just the core that affects your wand. Length, flexibility and the wood used all make your wand unique. For instance, your mother's wand was a ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work, whereas your father's, his was eleven inches. Mahogany, pliable, good for transfiguration. Already very different, even before you add in the cores. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand. Though _you_ may get passable results with your sister's wand. Because you are twins, you know." He added the last bit as a kind of aside, but he looked fascinated by what he was saying.

Isabel understood him in a flash. Mr. Ollivander was a scholar. He liked studying wands, and wand-lore. He probably owned this shop for research purposes (like what he was saying now about Harry being able to use her wand, and the incident with Isabel's wand coming to her on its own) and for bills. Poor Mr. Ollivander.

She shared this with Harry.

**You're right, Iz! And the way he mumbles to himself like before-**

**-He's getting lost in his train of thought!**

**Yes.**

Both twins felt better. They liked to understand people-what made them tick. To psycho-analyze, though as they were eleven they didn't know that word. When they had figured out that Aunt Petunia would do anything for Dudley, was lazy and liked to think of herself as a lady, their lives had improved. They had continued, emboldened by success, and decided that Uncle Vernon was scared of seeming different, and liked to be superior.

Dudley was lazy and greedy, and liked to show his father that they were the same-on the same side, and so Dudley would dob you in for things. Isabel suspected his willingness to prove himself to his father stemmed from fear that if he didn't, Uncle Vernon would turn on him.

They had applied this technique on teachers, kids at school, Mrs Figg, Aunt Marge and many of Aunt Petunia's friends. It was very useful.

Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Isabel had sat. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down more boxes, muttering something how he hadn't factored in the "twin element when coupled with Harry's finger width".

"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beech-wood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. Isabel made a desperate attempt to smother her giggle at his look of horror.

"It's all wrong! What about…"He hovered over the boxes and peered at the labels, written in a spidery hand. "Perhaps. Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —"

Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.

"No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."

Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for, and he wished his wand was like Isabel's, that it would simply come to him, like a dog to its owner. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. Meanwhile, Hagrid had pulled out his newspaper and Isabel was inspecting her "Wand Care For Idiots" pamphlet.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now…..yes, why not…unusual combination…. holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid and Isabel whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well … how curious … how very curious …"

**Well done, Harry!**

**Thanks.**

Ollivander gently took Harry's wand and put it back into its box.

Harry felt wrong. He understood Isabel's "it was a part of me". All his instincts ye wrapping it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious … curious …"

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry swallowed.

"Voldemort? Voldemort's wand?" Isabel's eyes went wide and paled.

"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember. … I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. … After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great." Harry shivered. He paid for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander closed the door behind them with a bang as they exited his shop.

_May be a while til the next one, and I possibly maybe might go through and edit some old chapters. Will keep you posted if I do._


	7. Chapter 7: And Back Again

_Last Chapter: Harry shivered. He paid for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander closed the door behind them with a bang as they exited his shop._

Chapter 7: And Back Again

The afternoon sun hung low in the sky as they made their way back down Diagon Alley.

Hagrid stopped outside Eeylops Owl Emporium & Magical Menagerie. "I havena' got yeh birthday presen's yet."

"Oh. Thank you, but Hagrid, you don't have to do that."

"I will, though. Come on, I'll get yeh owls. All the kids wan' owls, they're dead useful, carry your mail an' all."

Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under wing. Isabel was in raptures over her new barn owl. She kept thanking Hagrid again and again, until Harry stopped her.

**Iz. You do it once. Watch me.**

"Thank you, Hagrid." Harry smiled gratefully. "We've never gotten such wonderful presents before."

**See?**

**Harry, you're a pain. I wanted to make sure he knew.**

"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "An' I don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys."

They went back through the wall, and into the Leaky Cauldron, which was now bustling in comparison to earlier. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. There was a soft conversation between a young couple in a booth, and a louder, more strident one between three pompous wizards in purple robes in a side table/ The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; some waved and smiled at him. Before any of them saw the twins, Tom appeared. The bartender was over the moon to see the twins again. He vaulted over the bar. "Everyone," he announced dramatically, 'I present, the Potter twins-in the Leaky Cauldron." He bowed in their direction.

Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at them. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.

Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron, while Isabel signed autographs. Every once in a while, people would grab them and pose with them for photos.

"Doris Crockford, Mr Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Miss Potter, I'm just so proud."

"Hey, Atticus, take a photo!"

"Sign here, and can you say "Dear Ruthie, Be Brave", and sign it "One Half Of The Potter Twins?"

"Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter."

"Delighted, Miss Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."

"I've seen you before!" said Isabel, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."

"She remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? She remembers me!"

Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.

But the crowd surrounding the twins wasn't thinning, and the twins began politely panicking, surrounded by adults who wanted to get closer.

**This is scary.**

**You need to cut a fringe.**

**And change our last names?**

**Maybe. If necessary.**

**We'll ask Hagrid.**

It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make him-self heard over the babble.

"Must get on — lots ter do. Come on, guys."

Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid put a protective arm around each twin and led them through the bar.

The twins were in shock as they walked down the road; they didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the owls asleep in their cages on Harry and Isabel's laps. Harry only realized they had arrived at the station when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder. "I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," Hagrid said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.

He headed for a neon sign advertising burgers.

"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.

He bought them each a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow. Normal-boring.

#*~*#

Isabel was pretty sure she was still trembling. All the people crowding her and demanding pictures, handshakes, autographs, had given her a bad scare. She wasn't used to being the centre of attention-unless it was a bad thing.

She asked "Hagrid, do you think we could keep who we are a secret? Change our names, maybe hide our scars?"

Hagrid looked doubtful. "I see why yeh'd wanna. Bu', frankly, I think tha' people will know who yeh are. Eleven year ol' twins who look like James and Lily Potter? People know who yeh are, and they expec' yeh to be at school this year…People will figger it out, and then there'll be lots of drama, an' you'll get _more_ attention. Be'er that you just be Bel an' Harry, The Twins Who Lived, rather than bein' Bel an' Harry, those kids who lied to everyone."

"You make a point," Isabel said slowly.

**Does he?**

**Yes. If we lie to people, they'll be angry. And people would get more excited at the headline saying: "REVEALED: TWINS TURN OUT TO BE POTTERS: Lying twins hide their identity" than the one saying "POTTER TWINS START SCHOOL". **Isabel had no doubt there would be headlines after today's experience. Mr Ollivander had been the only one who had guessed who they were and hadn't started bowing.

**Yeah. Still, anonymity has allure.**

They looked at Hagrid.

"I guess we maybe better not hide, then. Are you sure, though? What if no one really cares about us? Could happen." He looked hopeful. "I mean, it's not like we even remember what we did. In fact," he went on, warming to his topic, "it's worrying. Everyone thinks we're special. But we're not."

**No offense, Iz.**

**None taken, Harry.**

"Yeh _are_ special. Yore wizards. Yore nice kids, polite an' stuff. Anyway, if no one cares about yeh, yeh won't need to hide, will yeh?"

"Good point."

"So we won't hide."

"But we won't try and attract attention, either."

Hagrid glanced at his watch-a silver dented monstrosity, covered odd symbols and hands with what looked like planets orbiting the face.

"Shoot! Look, I gotta go. Yeh guys get on this train in an hour," he pulled out a train timetable out and tapped it, "and here are yore tickets. And then, on September firs', yeh get on the Hogwarts Express. Platform 9 ¾ , Kings Cross. Train leaves at eleven o'clock. And here," he dug in his pocket frantically, "are the tickets fer _that_."

He practically sprinted off.

Isabel pocketed the tickets and the timetable.

**What can we do in an hour?**

Harry pulled out his bag of Galleons.

**They have a currency exchange desk at Gringotts, and I paid it a visit while you and Hagrid were arranging the mail-order thing. Why don't we go shopping?**

#*~*#

They got home at four o'clock, having had to walk to Privet Drive with their trunks and owl cages. They stopped outside No. 4.

**Do we absolutely have to go back?**

**Sorry, Iz.**

**Are you sure?**

**Sorry, Iz.**

Harry pushed open the gate and they walked up the garden path.

#*~*#

Aunt Petunia opened the door. She squeaked at the sight of them.

"Vernon! _They_ are back."

From inside the house, Dudley gibbered in terror.

Harry caught a glimpse of him bolting upstairs, hands firmly clasped over bottom.

**Iz! Look! There he goes.**

**What? Where?**

**Dudley. He was running and holding his butt.**

**Oh, I can't see him. ****_Darn_****.**

#*~*#

Uncle Vernon was livid. He was so mad he was stuttering

"AND TH-THEN YOU LEAVE US STRANDED-D-D ON THAT B-BLOODY ISLAND! YOU…FREAKS! YOU AND, AND, AND YOUR FREAK FRIEND! WE HAD T-T-TO CALL THE COASTGUARD ON P-PETUNIA'S PHONE AND-D HE SAID THAT WE WERE LANDLUB-LUBBBERS! AND THEN YOU HAVE THE CH-CH-CHEEK TO WALK B-BACK IN HERE LIKE YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO ENTER TH-THIS HOUSE? YOU, YOU…" he looked around for Aunt Petunia, but she was upstairs trying to convince Dudley to unlock his bedroom door and stop that noise, darling, Mummy won't let them hurt you.

So, without the option of collapsing into his chair and letting Aunt Petunia get him a brandy, Uncle Vernon advanced on the twins.

But the twins had had lots of time to plan for this. Isabel pulled her wand out of her found his wand sticking out of his back pocket.

"Never," Harry whispered, trying to emulate Hagrid from earlier, "lay a hand on _either_ of us, ever again."

"Or," Isabel waved her wand enthusiastically, "we'll make you and your son match."

Uncle Vernon backed away.

#*~*#

The weeks that followed were the best of the twins' lives to date.

Harry slept in every morning, but Isabel couldn't shake the early-rising habit. They cooked themselves three proper meals a day. They stayed up late all night reading their class books, although Isabel read them all in a week and had to start on Dudley's discarded books. Both pronounced their class books fascinating, even Isabel who had read them twice, having finished Dudley's books.

The Dursleys ignored them completely. No haircuts for Harry.

It was _wonderful_.

#*~*#

They named their owls Hedwig and Juno. Isabel named Juno after some Roman goddess, and Harry found the name Hedwig in _A History of Magic_. Hedwig and Juno had become best friends after a bumpy start. Now, instead of bumping each other out of the sky, they went on hunting trips together and tried to give each other the biggest piece of mouse carcass. Harry imagined that owl conversations went like:

"You have it."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly. You have it."

"Are you sure? Why don't you have it?"

"Oh, thank you."

Unfortunately, the owls were not the cleanest eaters, and at least half of each mouse carcass ended up on the floor. It was lucky that the Dursleys steered clear. Harry knew that if Aunt Petunia had caught him and Isabel sneaking the carcasses out with gloves and a shovel, she would forget her fear of magic and kick the owls out.

#*~*#

On the 31st of August, Isabel and Harry broke their pattern of ignoring the Dursleys.

**We'd better tell them about Kings Cross tomorrow. Got your wand?**

**Ready to go.**

The Dursleys were watching some reality TV show about beauty queens stranded on a desert island. On the screen, Daneca was sobbing about missing her boyfriend Jace, met two days before the show. "It's so-sob, sniff-hard. Because I love him, so –sob- much. And when we're apart…" She broke down.

Isabel coughed politely.

The Dursleys ignored her.

Isabel stood in front of the TV.

The Dursleys ignored her.

Isabel pulled out her wand.

The Dursleys scrambled over each other to the nearest exit, saw Harry standing there, and stopped.

"Hey! We just want to talk!" Isabel tutted. "Can you please take us to Kings Cross tomorrow at half past ten?"

**That gives us half an hour to get our stuff on the train.**

**Yeah, okay.**

Uncle Vernon glared at Isabel.

"Wouldn't take you, but we're going anyway."

"You are? Why?"

All of the Dursleys seethed at Isabel's impudence, but eyed her wand.

"Gotta get that ruddy tail removed before Dudley goes to Smeltings."

_Anyone catch the writing group__3__ reference? I LOVE reviews..._


	8. Chapter 8: Trains

_AN: I don't own. I love reviews. Esp. if you have some constuctive criticism. Any opinions about pace would be welcome, as I'm second-guessing myslef. Thanks so much to the constant reviewers, and those that care about my story enough to try and improve it or encourage me._

_Last Chapter: "Hey! We just want to talk!" Isabel tutted. "Can you please take us to Kings Cross tomorrow at half past ten?"_

_**That gives us half an hour to get our stuff on the train.**_

_**Yeah, okay.**_

_Uncle Vernon glared at Isabel._

_"Wouldn't take you, but we're going anyway."_

_"You are? Why?"_

_All of the Dursleys seethed at Isabel's impudence, but eyed her wand._

_"Gotta get that ruddy tail removed before Dudley goes to Smeltings."_

Chapter 8: Trains.

The next day found Harry frantically packing all his stuff while Isabel (who was still getting up so early she had been packed before Harry awoke) menaced the Dursleys with her wand whenever they tried to back the car out of the driveway.

**Harry, come on! I can't make them stay forever!**

**Coming…where did you put my scales?**

**I don't know! Where did ****_you _****put them? Have you checked under your bed?**

**No. Oh, here they are.**

**Under the bed?** Isabel glared at Uncle Vernon and he thought the better of trying to sneak the car past her.

**Yep.**

**Repeat after me: Isabel is always right.**

**Whatever, Iz.**

Harry ran out the door holding his trunk, and stuffed it in the back with the owls and Isabel's trunk. Then he looked at Isabel and beamed.

**Come on. We're going to Hogwarts!**

#*~*#

The Dursleys were uncharacteristically silent all the way to Kings Cross. Uncle Vernon didn't complain once. Aunt Petunia pursed her thin lips and stared out the window. The only sound was Dudley's whimpering, as he rocked back and forth holding his bottom.

Uncle Vernon parked in front of Kings Cross and stared straight ahead.

Isabel and Harry slid out of the car, got their trunks and owls, and walked away from the Dursleys. Looking back never crossed their minds.

#*~*#

**Platform Eight…Platform Nine….and….Platform Ten?-that's not right. Did we miss it?**

**Try again.**

**Eight….Nine….Ten.** Isabel turned her head from side to side.

**Harry! It's not here!**

**Okay, don't freak out. What did Hagrid say?**

**Nothing! He said nothing!**

**Look, we'll ask that guard.**

The guard was apparently having a bad day.

Isabel showed him the tickets, asked him about the train at eleven, used her best manners that she had perfected when Aunt Marge visited.

The guard told her the tickets were bogus, there was no eleven o'clock train, and seemed impervious to charm. Then he stalked away.

By this time, near-identical twins with owls in a train station were drawing attention. Every head on the platform was turned towards them, and Isabel was having a panic attack.

**We are running out of time, and our platform is missing, and we're stuck in London, and we're alone, and the train is going to leave, and we'll have to go back to the Dursleys and we can't keep pretending to them that we know magic forever and they'll-**

**CALM DOWN! What we're going to do, is we're going to send an owl to Hagrid **(they had discovered the uses of owls in their schoolbooks) **and explain that we couldn't find the platform. He'll help us.**

"Packed with Muggles, of course," rang out across the station as Harry concluded and the twins spun around, questing for the owner of a voice that talked about Muggles.

A plump woman with red hair was herding four tall red-haired boys with trunks and an owl-an _owl_-towards them. Walking beside her and looking very excited was a little red-haired girl.

"Now Ginny, sweetheart, what's the platform number?"

"Nine and three quarters!" the little girl piped.

**Nine and three quarters! FOLLOW THAT WOMAN!**

Harry and Isabel tried to discreetly follow the woman. Harry whistled jauntily and Isabel pretended to be absorbed in the station roof. It was not absorbing.

"Now Percy, you first."

The tallest of the red-haired boys pushed his trolley straight at a pillar. Surely he was going to crash? A group of people walked in front of the pillar, and blocked Isabel's view. By the time they moved, he was gone. How very peculiar.

"Fred, you next."

"Ma, I'm not Fred, I'm George. I can't believe you can't tell your own children apart."

The little girl giggled.

"Sorry, dear. "

"Only kidding, I am Fred." And Fred walked towards at the pillar, and disappeared. Harry squinted. Had he done something to get in?

**Iz? Did he wave his wand or something?**

**Not that I could see. I think you could see that far, anyway, Harry. Your eyesight isn't that terrible.**

The other twin-George-followed Fred through. The twins watched closely but they didn't see him to do anything.

**Oh, this is hopeless. Why don't we ask?**

**Nah, we can figure it out.**

**I'll ask then. You do it by yourself.** Isabel left Harry leaning against the trunks.

"Excuse me? Hi! Look, I'm trying to find Platform 9 & ¾?"

"First year at Hogwarts?" The woman smiled kindly. "Ron's new too." She indicated the last and youngest of her sons. Ron was tall and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet and a long nose. He also looked petrified. He smiled weakly at Isabel, who flashed a friendly smile back.

"Yeah. But, the thing is I don't know how to, uh,"

"Get on the platform?

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, I don't know how to."

"Not a problem, love. Just walk at that pillar. Don't stop, and don't be afraid that you'll crash. You won't. Maybe do it at a bit of a run, if you're nervous. Ron, show her what to do."

**Is she telling you how?**

**Yeah. Come over here. We have to walk at the pillar. Like we're going to crash. But we don't crash.**

**Okay…**

Harry joined them in time to watch Ron nearly sprint at the pillar.

"He's a little nervous." His mother sighed, and his younger sister, hiding behind her, giggled.

"I'll go next. I'm not scared." And she marched at the pillar.

Her mother chuckled fondly. "Why don't you go next? I'll make sure you get through. Oh!" she spotted Harry.

"This is my twin brother, Harry. My name is Isabel."

**Please don't freak out, please don't freak out. **Isabel chanted. To her credit, the woman didn't. She gasped, but she (with a bit of a visible effort) restrained herself from asking whether they were the Potter twins. Harry and Isabel breathed out in relief.

"Well, you go after her." The woman nodded vigorously. "I'm Mrs Weasley, by the way."

**She refers to herself by her surname?**

**Wizards seem a bit old fashioned.**

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Isabel offered her hand, and the woman shook hands with her, and repeated with Harry.

"Likewise." She seemed content to just look at them.

"Perhaps we better go through now?" Harry nodded at the clock.

"Yes, of course. I think you first, honey."

Isabel squared her shoulders, took her trolley from Harry, and ran before she thought better of it. She was going to smash into the ticket box, and then that horrible guard would be cross. She tried to stop-she couldn't-she closed her eyes-and felt a tremor. Like the world had shivered. She opened her eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign on the front said _Hogwarts Express_. A guard was bellowing, "Hogwarts Express, leaving at eleven o'clock! All aboard for the Hogwarts Express, you have ten minutes!" Harry appeared beside her.

**Hey.**

They had done it.

**Well, I suppose now we find a seat. Did you thank Mrs Weasley?**

**Yep.**

**She was so nice.**

They set off, looking around them with interest. A few people saw them, but no-one approached them. Harry and Isabel thought that maybe fame might not be as bad as they'd thought. If no-one noticed them…

Mind, they might be just busy looking at everything. Platform Nine & Three Quarters was bustling. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

Harry and Isabel were looking round, filled with curiosity.

**Do you think he's in our year?** Isabel indicated a round faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," the old woman sighed.

**He looks our age. I wonder what houses all these people are in? **

**They've all got their house coloured jerseys on, look. Wait, what are we going to do about that? All our stuff is grey.**

**Did you not listen to Madam Malkin? It'll change once we're Sorted into houses. You're up in the clouds, Iz.**

The twins slowed to watch a boy with dreadlocks surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on."

The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

Isabel shrieked a little and moved on hastily, pretending that she didn't know why Harry was laughing.

**What?**

**Poor Iz. Scared of spiders, huh? **Harry mocked.

**Oh, shut up, Harry.**

The twins pressed on through the crowd until they finally found an empty compartment near the end of the train. Together, they got their trunks in, and sat nervously.

#*~*#

**Harry?**

**Yeah?**

**We have to be in the same house.**

Harry wrapped an arm around his sister.

**We will be.**

**But what if…?**

**Then we'll change.**

**But…**

**We'll make them let us change.**

**Kay.**

**Iz?**

**Yeah?**

**I've been thinking-**

**Wow!**

**_Iz. _****I've been thinking-**Harry gave her a warning look**-and I think we should keep our mindspeaking a secret.**

**Okay.**

**Just okay?**

**It makes sense. We're weird enough, already.**

**Yeah, exactly.**

#*~*#

Mrs Weasley's dulcet tones came floating through the window. "FRED! GEORGE! COME 'ERE!" Without discussion, the twins moved to the window seat to watch. They could just catch what Mrs Weasley was saying.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose." Ron tried to dodge, but she swooped on him and began rubbing his nose with a floral handkerchief.

"Ma — geroff!" He wriggled free, scarlet with embarrassment.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. They had strolled up to their mother, carefree and casual.

"Shut up," said Ron.

"Where's Percy?" said their mother.

"He's coming now."

The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and was wearing a shiny red and gold badge with the letter P on it, pinned prominently on his chest.

"Can't stay long, I'm afraid, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —"

"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —"

"Or twice —"

"A minute —"

"All summer —"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.

Isabel giggled.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.

"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there."

She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins, who lost their grinning faces, and replaced them with overly angelic ones.

Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Ma."

"It's not funny! And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already but his nose was still pink where Mrs Weasley had rubbed at it.

"Alright, keep your hair on."

A whistle sounded.

"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys kissed her and ran to the train. Right into Isabel and Harry's compartment. The boys didn't greet the twins, or appear to see them, even. All three of them were too busy waving. Their younger sister started to cry.

"Don't cry, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"Fred!"

"Only joking, Ma."

The train began to move. Mrs Weasley waved and their sister, half laughing, half crying, ran to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.

#*~*#

Both twins watched the platform disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he and his sister were leaving behind.

The Weasley boys turned around, and sat opposite the Potter twins.

"Hello! I'm Fred, this is George and this one is Ronniekins. Well, Ronald, but he likes to be called Ronniekins." Fred smiled brilliantly at the twins.

"Hello again." Isabel said pleasantly. Ron stuttered a little.

**So, we introduce ourselves?**

**Yes.**

"I'm Isabel, and this is Harry."

The boys all gasped. It was almost comic.

**Oh, ****_no_****.**

"_The_ Isabel? _The_ Harry?"

"Isabel and Harry Potter." Harry clarified.

"Wow! Really? Are you…? Did you guys….?" Harry tried not to hit his head against the seat.

"Yes, really." Isabel shrank against the seat.

**You right?**

**I was hoping not to get this instantly. It's a little scary, that we're famous. I like flying ****_under_**** the radar.**

"Wow," Ron breathed. The twins started firing questions.

"Do you remember anything?"

"No."

"Do you know what You-Know-Who looks like?"

"No."

"Can we see your scars?"

Isabel grimaced and pulled up her new fringe, courtesy of Harry. She dropped it just as quickly.

#*~*#

Eventually, the twins ran out of questions.

"We're going to get our trunks."

"We'll get yours, too, Ron."

They marched out. Ron pretended to look out the window, but kept sneaking looks at Harry and Isabel.

**Why don't we try and get a ****_real_**** conversation going? Otherwise we'll he'll just be scared of us the whole way to school.**

**Good idea.**

**You're up.**

**Why me?**

**You're the guy. He's shy of me.**

**Fine.**

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry.

"Er — yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

**Keep talking.**

"So you must know loads of magic already."

"Nah. Not really. Um, I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

"Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff— I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.

Isabel had been silent for this whole exchange, trying to let Ron relax.

**Harry! Re-assure him. Tell him that we have no money. There's nothing wrong with not being able to afford an owl, we can't let him get awkward over it.**

Harry obeyed instructions. He told Ron about having to wear Dudley's old clothes, having no money and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.

"… and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —"

Ron gasped.

"What?" said Harry.

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —" The door banged open, and Fred and George entered. Harry pretended he hadn't noticed and replied to Ron.

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name. I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn. … I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

**Rubbish. You'll do great.**

"You won't be," said George, sitting down next to Ron. "There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

Now that the Weasley twins had seen Ron treating Harry like normal, they appeared to have forgotten their awe. They started to talk and laugh and joke. The Weasley twins could talk and laugh and joke with the best of them, and they put everyone at ease. Soon, Ron was talking to Isabel as well as Harry.

#*~*#

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Isabel dug in her trunk. "I made jam sandwiches." Fred shook his head. "Nix on the cart. We're fine. We've got sandwiches too." Harry (who hadn't had any breakfast because he had been in such a rush earlier) leapt to his feet.

**Harry! I made enough for both!**

**I hate jam, you know that.**

**Harry…**

Despite Isabel's mental sighing, Harry went all out. He had never had any money, let alone for candy, with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry — but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?"

"Too hungry for the sandwiches I laboured over?" Isabel sniffed.

"I'm starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty, "and I hate jam."

George brought out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were twelve sandwiches inside. He handed four each to Ron and Fred, pulled one of his apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —"

"You don't want one of these, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."

"Go on, have a pasty. All of you. Iz?" said Harry, who had never had many opportunities to be generous. It was a nice feeling, sitting there, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).

"What are these?" Isabel asked, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?"

"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

Isabel nodded and unwrapped a Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and moustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry, peering over her shoulder.

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Fred. "Really?"

Isabel shook her head. "Not before we got our letters."

"Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —'

Harry took the card from Isabel, who was talking to Fred still, turned it over and read:

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.

"He's gone!"

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her … do you want it? You can start collecting."

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"

Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcraft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Fred chuckled. "Go on, young Harry. Try a few."

Ron rolled his eyes. "You want to be careful with those. When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe."

"I had a booger-flavoured one once." George boasted.

Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.

"Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts."

They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Isabel wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. t

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. Earlier, they had been passing by neat fields. These had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.

_Thank y'all for reading. Please point out spelling/grammar mistakes. :)_


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